“Change leader” tops the list as the most important CIO leadership attribute, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. The 2025 State CIO Survey from NASCIO revealed the three most important traits for CIO success; these included communicator and strategist, tied for second place, along with relationship manager in third. The survey represents the 16th annual survey of the CIOs by the organization and includes responses from 51 state and territory CIOs on eight topics. As one CIO stated, “every day requires agility across all dimensions of leadership.”
For state government, according to GovRAMP, parameters “represent the line between trust and vulnerability.” The public expects regulatory agencies to keep data secure. And staff need systems that work well to provide good customer service delivery. Parameters, like password length and session timeouts, they say, define how technology operates. GovRAMP supports regulatory agencies by providing standardized baselines that help to define these parameters related to security. GovRAMP explains in What Is a Parameter? The Quiet Rules Behind Secure Systems on September 16 that “when governments and providers align on smart parameters, they make security both consistent and effective—ensuring systems remain resilient and services remain reliable.”
AI helps state and local governments fill local workforce gaps, according to GovTech. In the Fall issue, Georgia CIO Shawnzia Thomas explains “government is facing budget cuts, hiring freezes and pressures to do more with less. AI can play a critical role in helping to stretch our limited budget, helping protect critical services, and reducing fraud and waste and abuse.” AI, for example, helps review security logs—composed of large data sets. In addition, CIOs see AI as a way to free up their staff to perform higher level work, leaving routine tasks to AI.